crafty christmas

Hey yo! 

Yet another post about my awesome craftiness!!

I needed something super cute and fun for my employees and couldn't think of anything cheap! 

I finally found a great idea for some bottle cap magnets. 

And since we work at a coffee shop, I put little coffee type pictures in them! 

This was so easy and fun, you should totally try it! 

I basically had to wing it, with a few hundred calls to my friend Jess to get me through. 

Here's a step by step for you!

The best tip for this project is to get the right magnets. RARE EARTH magnets are amazing. 

SUPER STRONG and small.

 I found some at a local hardware store and they rock! 

You can also find them online too :)

Rare earth magnets... SUPER MAGNETS!

Screw top caps work best (they aren't bent from opening)

I got this Resin at Michael's with a 50% off coupon!

 There's a ton of kinds of resin you can get.

 I went to a few craft stores who had no idea what I was looking for. 

One lady even suggested Mod Podge. I laughed and said, uhhhhh no. 

Michael's was finally the winner. Again, anything is available online.

1" hole punch is a miracle!

 I used scrap book paper and a few photos I had developed of coffee beans.

 Set the magnets in the bottle caps. Be sure to give them some room cause those magnets are STRONG. They will find each other! Be careful!

From here I put resin in the caps up to the top of the magnets. 

Then I put the pictures in over the magnets and finished filling the caps with resin. 

Be sure to get them full, but not TOO full. Just up to the top. 

Full but not TOO full. Helpful, and incredibly specific, I know.

 

Bubbles will appear, and you can either blow on them, or if they're big, you can stick a tooth pick in them to pop them. Most of the small bubbles will rise to the top and then pop on their own.

 Then you just follow the directions on the resin box! The kind I got said to set up in a dust/hair free area for 24 hours. Then leave to completely harden for another 72 hours.

Super cute!

Plus I love this idea for vacation souveniers.

 I'm going to do some with the intention of showing the top of the cap as the front of the magnet. 

I have twenty or so from when we went to Florida from Florida Brewing Company. How fun!

Don't you just love them!?? I know I do.

It can be a little messy, put it was fun and loved how they turned out! :)

McGriddle Pants

Infuse this!

Woah. Seriously, I'm still alive! Life is busy, but it goes on, no?

I've been busy busy busy working working working. But I've been trying to be super crafty lately, inspired of course by Pinterest.

You can find me here

I attempt to actually recreate things I see on Pinterest to help justify all my time spent on the site...

So here's two recent adventures...

Home made Vanilla Extract

This was a super easy project, and smells so good!

I found these great little bottles at The Container Store for only $4 each!!

Then you just fill with Vodka (or Bourbon) and whole vanilla beans! I sliced the beans up the middle with some scissors and put them in the bottles! I used 3 beans per bottle. Some recipes online show way more vanilla beans per bottle of vodka, one even said SEVENTY for a half a gallon of vodka. Which seems a little steep! Especially considering vanilla beans are around $1.50 each.

I love how this turned out! I'm going to write a little note for each one letting the recipient know to wait 30 days before using it. The taste difference in your baking is outstanding! Plus most store bought vanilla extracts have a TON of added sugar. That's just bad news bears!

Infusion... commence!

Cranberry-Lime Infused Vodka

Secondly I found this awesome Cranberry-Lime infused vodka recipe, that also seemed like a great Christmas gift idea! It works out to be about $9 per bottle! Of course I found these awesome bottles at Grocery Outlet (a bargain grocery store) filled with some sort of fizzy pink lemonade for only #2.99, so I realize these bottles at this price may be difficult to find. Again, they sell 

something similar at The Container Store.

From there I just bought 2 pounds of whole cranberries, sat in front of the tv and proceeded to poke holes in all the cranberries and put them in the bottles. Around 2/3 of the way, I put the rind of one lime in each bottle. Then I put a few more berries on top! And of course, fill with vodka! yes! This smells SO GOOD! And I have more vodka left, so I'm going to make a few more bottles. I again bought a half of a gallon of Svedka, which is on sale for $20 in stores here, so I have enough left for about 2-3 more bottles of this goodness! I found this idea at The Fancy Napkin, and I'm also going to attach this recipe for Cran-tinis to the bottles when I gift them.

Hark! I bring tidings of great booze.

Crantini's

Ingredients:

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

1 1/2 oz. Cranberry-Lime Infused vodka

4 oz. Cranberry juice

Ice

Directions:

Shake with ice, and shake well. Strain and serve in a martini glass

Garnish with cranberries or a lime twist.

Hugs and kisses!

McGriddle Pants

its too late to be "nice"

I'm finally DONE shopping! Thanks goodness for internet shopping and expedited shipping!! My Holiday giving was nearly thwarted by my lack of unemployment fundage. Long story short, I've borrowed money from my mom to get everyone gifts, until I get paid next week. Yayyyyyy for debt! At least my mom doesn't charge me interest. But I do feel a tremendous amount of guilt for being a non-self sufficient adult. But that's neither here nor there.

My post today is about STOCKING STUFFERS! I came up with some pretty kick-ass relatively cheap ones, and wanted to share. I'm such a giver!! They're also great for last minute gift ideas for anyone you may have forgotten!

Walmart $2.40

I laughed OUT LOUD when I saw this.  

Sears $6.50

 Baggie holder. Great for freezing left overs, soups & sauces.

Target $4.50

 Cups and balls, its the gift that keeps on giving!

Walgreens $6

Even Santa knows that hangovers are no joke.

Walmart - Pack of 4 for $9 (easy to split into FOUR gifts!)

Almost everyman appreciates BBQ sauce, and beer.

Target $6

Silicone brush works great for marinating, basting, brushing butter on corn or bread. Its AWESOME!

Target $2.50

Slinky's are awesome for any age! 

I just gave one for a gift exchange and everyone was fighting over it!

Walmart $1 each!

Who doesn't love cuttie little rubber duckies! Great for holiday bathroom decor!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

may "the force" sleep next to you

Check out my super awesome Star Wars bedside table I made for my bro for Christmas. I'm so proud of my efforts I felt the need to share!

Vader drawers

don't judge my unfinished hardwood floors...

All it took was 4 old Star Wars posters, a used bedside table and a bottle of Mod Podge (the most versatile crafty stuff ever!)

1. Clean your table. 
2. Fit and cut your posters to where you'd like to place them. 
3. Dip posters in the sink so they're damp. This helps them adhere flat, and causes less bubbling (think applying wallpaper)
4. Use a small paint brush and apply Mod Podge to the surface, lay down and arrange your picture. 
5. Press out air bubbles with damp wash cloth. 
6. Apply a generous top coat of Mod Podge (don't worry, it dries clear). 
7. Apply 2-4 more coats. Et, voilà! Très jolie!

This was such a super easy project! It took less than an hour. If you try this, I highly recommend using a table that has straight, squared edges. And use a razor blade instead of "trimming" with scissors. I messed up a few times cause my paper stretched a little bit once wet and pressed flat. I didn't follow the rule of "measure twice, cut once". Doh!

What's really funny is that his wife actually was the one who asked for a bed side table for Christmas. Too bad I had this planned out before I got her list!! O.o

pass the alka seltzer

Ohhhhh Holiday Insanity!!

I literally spent all day yesterday in my pajamas. ALL DAY. No shower. I rolled out of bed (off the couch as per relatives had invaded my bedroom) and after the fam left I retired to the recliner with laptop and tv at the ready for a day of nothingness. And what a successful day I had!! I ate so many left overs on a 3-4 hour intervals. I'm pretty sure I've gained 10 pounds in the last week. And now that its all over and I feel this weight of stress had been lifted only to be replaced with sort of boredom also know as reality. As Bacon is My Lover so elequently put it "that so-full-it-hurts-to-move feeling makes your depression even worse. I barely feel like moving much less putting together words into coherent thoughts for people to read." Amen sista.

But all in all we had a great holiday. My cousin brought her two kids over on Wednesday and we had lots of catching up to do, over many many bottles of wine. Everyday was greeted with a mild hangover and food to be made and then eaten and more relatives to visit. Christmas eve we had her mother over for clam chowder dinner. I thought the kids were going to get slapped for constantly nagging "can we open one present now?" "what about NOW?" "NOW!!?!" Oh to be a kid again. We let them open ONE gift on christmas eve and they spend half the day finding the perfect one to open. And of course they had to wait until after dinner.

Christmas Day was awesome, again with a mild hangover, which was easily lifted by the corking of the champange. The other two bottles flowed very quickly. Mmmmmmm. Then the rest of the gang came over, and with a house of 14 people we ate. and ate. and ate. (a ham AND a turkey AND 15 pounds of potatoes) and drank. and drank. and drank (4 bottles of champagne, 10 of wine, and a few quarts of eggnog)!!! Oh such good times! We followed dinner with rounds of board games, Apples to Apples is still my favorite ever, but we also gave Pictionary Man a whirl as well as Taboo. Man do the kids love being in charge of the buzzer for Taboo. Love it a little too much actually. Ughhhhh. I really think the highlight of the evening was how many penises were drawn on that pictionary man. How else do you draw the clue of "shaft"??

Which of course was followed up by my lovely Boxing Day activities, mentioned above.

Whew! Its nice to be back to normal, but a little sad too. Mom and I finally have the house put back together, and the silver is almost all polished and put away. Today we're going to watch It's Complicated. I love that Meryl Streep!!

the best way to spread christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear

I'm sufficiently hungover today, and yet I can't wait to make a fresh batch of eggnog!

The gifts are nestled safely under the tree, and are being eyeballed by the kids (who are not allowed to touch or shake them although several have been weighted, or marbles added to the box to throw off their sneaky snooping efforts!) Now stop reading my blog and go make some cookies, or watch A Christmas Story, or make conversation with your Uncle Bob!

Merry Christmas!

even Moto is feeling festive

run run as fast as you can..

93 cookies! 2 pounds of powdered sugar.. 4 shades of food coloring.. 2 bottles of sprinkles.. 5 mugs of eggnog with bourbon.. One glass of red wine.. One bratwust with mustard.. And a partridge in a pear tree!!

o tannenbaum

Sometimes I'm just lazy. L.A.Z.Y. This usually involves showertime. I'm honestly not a huge sweater (no, I don't mean the wool kind). And sometimes I just don't feel like taking a shower.

The main reason I don't want to take a shower, is because it takes "too long" in my weird opinion. I feel its just easier to get dressed, run a brush through my hair and then be on with my day. What's really funny is that I only take about 15 minutes from shower to finished. What's even funnier is, I honestly think I take LONGER to get ready when I don't shower.

Extra/fresh deoderant. Change all my clothes down to my scibbies. Brush my hair. Attempt to fix my hair from the attrocities that my sleep patterns have inflicted upon it. Lotion. Reapply makeup. I've never actually timed myself, but I just realised today I think it takes me longer. Ohhhhhhh me.

I hope you enjoyed Tuesday's Randomness.

Now onto activities!!

Today I finally decided to try to pry myself out of this anti-holiday funk I've been in. Thanksgiving is officially over, the pumpkins are starting to rot. The civil war has passed as well, which I think was a big hold-up for my Christmas Cheer delay. So today mom and I went to get our Christmas Tree.

Mom and I bundled up, since its been a balmy 25 for the last week, and for december in oregon that's FRIGGIN FREEZIN. "We were kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols." No, not one of the stupid ties with the santa clauses on it either. A Tree.

My friend had just gone up the previous weekend and told us about a great spot off Moose Creek Drive, off logging road 720 (shout out to my Cascadia peops). Well after 2 hours of driving, we decided that one of the two hundred "cute little guys" that we had driven by would do the job just nicely, we turned around.

Mom's had some troubles with her knee lately, so I treked off up the path with my saw in hand and walked about 19 feet and cut down the first tree I saw. (patience was wearing a wee bit thin at this point). I nominated this one to be my brother's and hiked up another 10 feet and whacked down the next one. And by "whacked" I mean I sawed on that bastard for nearly twenty minutes. Once complete we strapped those bad boys on board and headed home.

And of course, the genius that I am, I was sure that the tree we picked out would be perfect. It looked like the perfect size in the woods. Next to all the other 15 foot trees. HAHAAA! So after I did a measuirng of our mere 9 ft ceilings I practiced my lumberjacking skills once again to perform major truck reduction surgery. Another 20 minutes of sawing, steadying, adjusting, tree falling, readjusting, trimming branches, readjusting, and voilà! She was ready!!

The funniest part of all, was after the tree was ready and watered and lights strung, I noticed she started leaning. A little more. A little more. And a little more. Ever so subtle. Cheeky monkey.

So to fix this problem without starting entirely over, we affixed some fishing line from the tree to the buffet. How ingenious of me!

I'm like maguyver!

feeling festive yet?

Wrap up your pictures! So festive! :) Love it!